These Easy Refrigerator Pickled Carrots are crisp and crunchy, vinegary with a hint of sweet, and garlicky with a mildly spicy kick. They’re so delicious and perfect for snacking!
If you’ve got some extra carrots from your garden, the farmers’ market, or the grocery store and are looking for something new to do with them, make some carrot refrigerator pickles. It’s so easy (there’s no canning involved), and wow, are they packed with flavor!
Our summer garden is in full swing! There’s nothing better than eating fresh vegetables that you grew yourself right from seeds. They taste like they’re supposed to, you save money, and you can freeze some to enjoy during the winter months.
Thank goodness David has a green thumb. Me? Not so much. He grows it. I pick it and cook it. It works out great!
We’ve already enjoyed lots of radishes, peas, green beans, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and broccoli. The cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes are well on their way. And for the past week or so, I’ve been harvesting lots of these beautiful half-sized carrots.
We’ve mostly enjoyed munching on them fresh, which is my favorite way to eat carrots. We also cooked them up as a side dish for dinner, and I froze a lot of them to use later.
But we still have lots more left, and I decided to make some of these super simple carrot pickles for a different way to enjoy them. They last in the refrigerator for up to a month – and they stay crunchy – although we always eat ours much faster than that!
Now for the “hard” part: although these carrots are super quick and easy to put together, you must wait at least 5 days before you eat them.
Sure, technically, you could eat them after 24 hours, but I think you would be a little disappointed. The flavors will not have had enough time to develop and meld together. Trust me, the longer they sit, the better they get.
It’s hard to wait, but it’s totally worth it!
Ingredients you need:
- Fresh carrots
- Garlic (whole cloves)
- White distilled vinegar
- Water
- Sugar
- Kosher salt
- Mustard seeds
- Peppercorns
- Celery seeds
- Crushed red pepper flakes
Here’s a look at how to make Easy Refrigerator Pickled Carrots:
Tips & Tidbits:
- I use and recommend wide-mouth mason jars. It’s easier to pack the carrots into the jars, and (more importantly!) it’s easier to pick them out of the jar when you want to eat them.
- Make sure your jars are not cold (if needed, you can warm them up by running them under warm water). If they are cold, the sudden temperature change when you pour in the boiling-hot brine could cause the jars to crack (I learned this the hard way a long time ago).
- With this recipe, I always have enough brine (in fact, I usually end up with a little extra). If you ever happen to come up a little short, just add more vinegar or water to top off the jars.
- When pouring the brine into the jars, don’t forget to make sure you distribute the spices evenly between the jars so both get all that flavor.
- The garlic flavor will intensify over time. You can remove the garlic cloves at any point if it is getting too strong.
- The red pepper flakes add just a little bit of spicy heat that I love. Feel free to add more, less, or none at all.
- Just remember, since we are not canning, these pickled carrots are not shelf-stable and must be kept refrigerated. They will last up to 1 month. I always put the date I made them somewhere on the jar or lid.
Pickled carrots can be put in salads, wraps, on a veggie tray, served as a side dish alongside a burger or sandwich, or just eaten straight out of the jar as a super yummy – and somewhat addicting – snack!
I hope you try this Easy Refrigerator Pickled Carrots recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
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Easy Refrigerator Pickled Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon celery seeds
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional, add more or less to taste
Special Equipment
- 2 pint-sized mason jars with lids (wide-mouth recommended)
Instructions
- Trim the root ends and tops from the carrots; discard. Peel the carrots and cut them into sticks that are approximately ½" wide by 4" long.
- Divide the carrot sticks (and any extra pieces you have left) between 2 pint-sized wide-mouth mason jars (you might have to pack them in a bit). Put one garlic clove in each jar, tucking it down in amongst the carrots. Note: Make sure your jars are not cold. If they are cold, the sudden temperature change when you pour in the boiling-hot brine could cause the jars to crack. If needed, warm them up by running under very warm water.
- Place the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, peppercorns, celery seeds, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the brine into the jars, completely covering the carrots and filling them almost to the top (also make sure that the spices are evenly distributed between the jars). Note: You should have just enough brine to fill the jars (and maybe a little extra left over). If there's not enough, just top them off with more vinegar or water.
- Allow to cool to room temperature with no lids (this should take about an hour).
- Put the lids on the jars and place them in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 5 days before serving. They get better the longer they sit!
Notes
- Since we are not canning, these pickled carrots are not shelf-stable and must be kept refrigerated. They will last up to 1 month.
- Estimated calories were calculated based on the full amount of all of the ingredients in the recipe, including the brine; since the majority of the brine will not be consumed, actual calories may be less.
Kristyn
These look amazing! I have a ton of carrots in my fridge I need to get rid of and this is the perfect way. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Michelle
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them!
Sarah
Thanks for this recipe! I realized a few hours before leaving on a 2-week vacation that I hadn’t eaten the large bunch of carrots I’d bought at a farmers market that weekend. I didn’t have time to do proper canning, but my slightly modified brine (I used ground pepper and celery seed since I didn’t have whole) was quick to make and pour over the raw carrots. And it made such a nice snack when we got home!
Michelle
Thank you, Sarah! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Deborah Ashby
Michelle, what do you think about using apple cider vinegar. My husband watches his salt intake. What about decreasing the amount of salt?
Michelle
Hi, Deborah! Yes, you could use apple cider vinegar (I think it would be delicious). In this recipe, the salt is included for flavor only, and so you could decrease the amount of salt (or even omit it altogether).